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MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines (like Silvia)?

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Discussions > Espresso > Machines > MYPRESSI serious...

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Buckley
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Jan 2011
Posts: 171
Location: USA
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Have Mypressi, want LM
Grinder: Compak K-10, Gaggia MDF
Drip: Hario V60

Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013, 12:48pm Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

Dear Kelevtov, I seem to be the Mypressi booster on this site. So ... what do you mean that it 'quit working'? What were your frustrations with it while it was working? Were you using your Baratza Precisio? How many seconds did it take to infuse your coffee? Please be patient. I log off and on. B

kelevtov
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Jan 2012
Posts: 3
Location: Western Massachusetts
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Mypressi
Grinder: Baratza Precisio
Drip: BonaVita

Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013, 4:58pm Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

It will not work, either pulling shots or just pushing water through with no coffee in the basket. Fresh cartridge, pull the handle, nothing. Nada. Zilch. Dead. I realize some of the quality issues were my techniques. There was a learning curve, which I felt like I was getting on top of, when it stopped working. Some of the shots I pulled were not well extracted: thin, no body, no crema. Others I packed too hard, and got dark mud too dense to really enjoy. I was getting better at it when it died. Yes, I was using the Precisio. Love that grinder. It works great with my drip coffee maker. No problems there. I just wonder if this machine is ever going to be satisfactory. I was attracted to it for several reasons: I like the technology, or at least its theoretical application. It is compact - not another big stainless steel box on my kitchen counter. It is much cheaper than a standard decent (or so I though) espresso machine, easier to justify since I make espresso once or twice a week. As i re-read them, they are not particularly good reasons to have bought it. What I should have been typing was "it makes great espresso". so far that has not been my experience. I gather I am nto alone as the company went belly-up.

Posted Sun Jan 27, 2013, 8:01pm Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

Dear Kelevtov, The good news is that Mypressi is alive and well and shipping. I had the showerhead leak after 1 - 1/2 years of service and I corresponded with Mypressi over it one month ago and bought a replacement for the cracked shower head. I thought that they were fading out, too but that is an inaccurate rumor. Ok, I paid $13.50 for it but that is not bad for 18 months of ownership. If I had followed the advice of Stephen at Mypressi, I could have taken the plastic ring from the pod showerhead, which I do not use, and replaced it in the standard showerhead and then the fix would have cost me zero. First, do you live with children? As you undoubtedly know, they love to stick things into things. Is your cartridge dock stopped up with something? What about the center of the hollow pin that does the poking and channeling of gas? Is it clear? If there is no appearance of trouble, just write and explain it to the following email: notifications-support@mypressi.zendesk.com You are likely to get a reply from Stephen O'Brien. Unless I miss my guess, he is one of the owners of Mypressi. As I found out last month, they still have good, responsive customer service. Tell him about your problem. I expect that they will be helpful to you. I found that packing pressure has very little to do with infusion time. True, I could get 2 or 3 seconds longer infusion by packing tighter, but I found that the grind and the age of the beans made much more of a difference. I always adjust my grind to try for the manual-suggested 25 second infusion, unless the roaster tells me to use a longer infusion, or my taste tells me to adjust for brightness or bitterness in the flavor. It helps me to use the unit without the bottom spout on, also as suggested by the manual, to see how long my infusion is and to release the trigger the second gas starts coming through. This tells you if you need to grind coarser or finer. The Mypressi is at its best with fresh roast. If you are freshly grinding an old roast, you are asking for channeling to occur - especially edge channeling, which the Mypressi is becoming known for. No big deal. Just use the Weiss Declumping Technique (WDT) (Google it, if necessary - it is on HomeBarista.com). If your basket is spraying sideways of if your regular roast and grind infuses 3 or 4 seconds more quickly (you have to be using a standard weight of dose in the basket every time to pick up this small inconsistency - but this is what I do), then channeling is occurring and it may explain why consistently good results are not coming your way. It helps to watch videos of good versus channeled streaming of the espresso from the bottom of a 'naked portafilter' online to learn if you are having channeling problems. WDT will fix them and it just requires a long needle and an extra four seconds of prep time. We are lucky. We can watch a naked portafilter just by leaving off the spout attachment. Most people with standard machines have to pay money for special 'naked portafilters' or machine off the bottom of a metal spouted unit in order to be able to study their espresso stream. It is very diagnostic! The fact that the Mypressi is cheaper just means that it is more elegant. I have read some tortured accounts of people wrestling with problem units but I believe this is a quality product and I have seen plenty of evidence that Mypressi folks stand behind their product. If you are on the level with them and you do not get help from them, I would be surprised. Let me - let all of us here at CG - know how you made out. With Regards, Buckley

pravspresso
Senior Member

Joined: 6 Nov 2005
Posts: 152
Location: toronto, canada
Expertise: I love coffee

Espresso: Quickmill Alexia: Watlow PID
Grinder: Mazzer Super Jolly
Roaster: Behmor 1600

Posted Mon Jan 28, 2013, 6:08am Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

I would go with the upgrade for anyone having issues with the 1st production run unit. The Mypressi Team cares about the performance and reliability of this product. "contact them" You will never be as good as Stumptown because you don't purchase high quality green beans & roast at home. You would probably have to be roasting for a few years before even coming close to what Stumptown serves it's customer base. Like I said before. Hands down the MyPressi produces a shot quality which is 8/10, nearly comparable to my Quickmill Alexia. $1500.00 plus machine vs $200.00 As posted previously. If you purchase bulk cartridges, your cost is super low.

kelevtov
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Jan 2012
Posts: 3
Location: Western Massachusetts
Expertise: I live coffee

Espresso: Mypressi
Grinder: Baratza Precisio
Drip: BonaVita

Posted Tue Jan 29, 2013, 7:26am Subject: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines (like Silvia)?

I do appreciate the replies. You are obviously both big fans of Mypressi, happy consumers. I will assume that neither of you work for Mypressi or are connected in another way. Interesting that none of the many detractors have chimed in. Perhaps they just aren't reading this topic or they are finished bashing the product. Last year Mypressi sent out an email offering a $25 upgrade service. I didn't jump on that initially, because the unit hadn't failed at that point. I just assumed the troubles I had with it were technique. When it finally stopped working, then I tried to purchase the upgrade at that price (the unit was about 7 months old then) but was told sorry, no longer available at $25, gonna cost you $50. My first email from the company was from Stephen, who I also assume is the new owner. Ideal customer service would have been to offer to fix or replace for free. I'd had it for less than a year, and as described, it has had very little use before breaking. They missed a chance for good customer service. It makes me leery of dealing with the company, of sending them any more money. So, as I originally posted, do I throw another $50 at a product that has had very mixed reviews, poor reliability, from a small company that should be treating their customers better? If this product fails so soon after purchase, even with a $50 repair will it fail again in a few months?

mypressi
Senior Member

Joined: 25 Oct 2009
Posts: 5
Location: San Jose, California
Expertise: I live coffee

Posted Thu Jan 31, 2013, 5:50am Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to machines (like Silvia)?

Hi Kelevtov, There may be some confusion. We have always provided a 12 month warranty so there is no need for an upgrade. Please write again to support@mypressi.zendesk.com as I can't locate your CG username there. We'll take care of it for you. My apologies if my initial email response was not on point. I may not have known that your mypressi was still within it's warranty period so was probably responding to a question about the change in the upgrade price. (Just guessing--there are a lot of emails every day). The change in the upgrade price was born from us changing the scope of the upgrades to include a full disassembly of every unit. Every screw, every o-ring. Then hand-reworking some components from v1 etc to bring them up to spec. My goal was that every unit, from the very first ones we sold in 2009, to the very latest could all be brought up to the latest specification. It turned out to be not quite possible, but we still provide a service that will strip down and update v2 units that are beyond the warranty period specified by consumer law. It may be a foolish goal as it isn't shared by any other companies I'm aware of (update my iPhone 4 to 5?), but we try to do our best. Hope to hear from you soon. Best regards, Stephen

Posted Thu Jan 31, 2013, 12:11pm
Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why inferior to better machines (like Silvia)?

kelevtov Said:

I do appreciate the replies. You are obviously both big fans of Mypressi, happy consumers. I will assume that neither of you work for Mypressi or are connected in another way.

Posted January 29, 2013 link

My silence might be construed as hiding some connection, so, no, my only relationship with Mypressi or anyone else is that I bought their product and I am enjoying it.

B

Posted Thu Jan 31, 2013, 12:15pm Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why inferior to better machines (like Silvia)?

Agreed, I didn't want to bother replying... So Ditto... "I am in no shape or form, affiliated with the Pressi Corp" BUT "I sure would like to be" ;0

kcfong2
Junior Member

Joined: 5 Apr 2013
Posts: 2
Location: California
Expertise: I love coffee

Posted Fri Apr 5, 2013, 11:22pm
Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

Buckley Said:

Dear Kelevtov,
... I had the showerhead leak after 1 - 1/2 years of service and I corresponded with Mypressi over it one month ago and bought a replacement for the cracked shower head. I thought that they were fading out, too but that is an inaccurate rumor. Ok, I paid $13.50 for it but that is not bad for 18 months of ownership. If I had followed the advice of Stephen at Mypressi, I could have taken the plastic ring from the pod showerhead, which I do not use, and replaced it in the standard showerhead and then the fix would have cost me zero.

Posted January 27, 2013 link

I found a quick and easy fix for the leaking showerhead (provided that your leak is not the result of the showerhead physically splitting, as happened to me on one unit). It appears the center "stub" that secures the flapper valve to the showerhead disk either wears, or was never "formed" right from the get go. I have two Mypressi's, and one is fine, the other leaked. Once you remove the metal showerhead, you can press up on the center of the flapper valve, and (in my case), if you have a leaky unit, you'll see that the flapper has some "give" at the center, and the "stub" lifts up about a millimeter or so. I went to Home Depot (mega hardware store for non-US readers) and purchased a 1/4"x 0.032" fiber washer, and slipped it over the "stub" to take up the slack. Worked like a charm. Here's a URL to the washer I got at Home Depot: http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/202209544?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=1%2F4+fiber+washer&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=202209544#.UV-9wcbn-70

The fiber washer was just the right thickness. There were neoprene washers available also, but I found them to be too thick. I just hope the fiber washer is asbestos and carcinogenic free ;-)

Good luck.

Posted Sat Apr 6, 2013, 9:35am
Subject: Re: MYPRESSI serious question - Why is it inferior to better machines

kcfong2 Said:

I went to Home Depot (mega hardware store for non-US readers) and purchased a 1/4"x 0.032" fiber washer, and slipped it over the "stub" to take up the slack. Worked like a charm.

Posted April 5, 2013 link

Dear kcfong,

Thank you for thinking of and contributing this fix.

In my case, all of the leaks have been due to splits forming in the plastic ring of the showerhead. There is one other recent mention of this on coffeegeek and one on home-barista. It may be a design or manufacture flaw of this component.

If I get the kind of leak that you troubleshot I will be sure to follow your advice.

With Kindness,

Buckley

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